After cruising through the majority of his six-inning outing with a one-run lead, Missoula starter Jason Durst allowed two tallies in the seventh and the O's fell victim to some bad luck in the final frames as Orem held on for a 3-2 Pioneer League victory.
Durst, who entered with just one victory, six losses and an ERA above eight, looked to be headed for more of the same as the Owlz scored in the bottom of the first on a walk and pair of singles. Durst then went on to retire 14 of the next 15 hitters he faced and appeared to be gaining steam after needing just 10 pitches total to retire Orem in order in the fifth and sixth innings.
But Owlz left fielder Jeremy Moore began the seventh by drawing a four-pitch walk. Following a brief visit to the mound by Osprey pitching coach Steve Merriman, Julio Perez scorched a triple to the gap in right-center, ending Durst's outing and tying the game 2-2.
Evan Scribner came on in relief and after going to a full count, Jeremy Gonzalez' fly out to left was enough to bring home Perez with the eventual game-winning run and make a tough-luck loser out of Durst (1-7). In six plus, he yielded four hits and two walks while striking out a pair.
However, the drama was far from over. In the eighth, Missoula center fielder Pete Clifford and shortstop Eli Rumler hit back-to-back blasts to left with Victor Estevez on first. Each came just short of the warning track and each was tracked down by Moore, ending the inning.
Missoula's final at-bat was even more dramatic, beginning when Taylor Harbin rocketed a drive that landed just below the top of the right-field fence. The shot was hit so hard that Harbin was held to a single. Sean Coughlin followed and smacked a hard line drive at Orem first baseman Gordie Gronkowski, who stabbed it and tagged first before Harbin could retreat for the inning's second out.
Derrick Walker followed with an infield single and advanced to third when Orem reliever Ryan Brasier's pickoff attempt sailed into right field. But with the tying run on third, Brasier got Anthony Smith to softly fly out to right to end it as Missoula fell to 6-8 in the season's second half.
Owlz starting hurler Mason Tobin nearly matched Durst's brilliance. In six innings, he was tagged for a pair of runs on four hits. Tobin didn't issue a free pass and fanned one.
Vladimir Veras (5-4) got the win, pitching an inning of hitless ball with a strikeout and Brasier, who threw two frames, picked up his sixth save.
Six different Osprey accounted for the team's seven hits. Walker, who singled twice, was the only Missoula hitter with a multi-hit game. Designated hitter Dijol doubled for the O's lone extra-base hit.
Perez paced the Owlz, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored.
The teams meet for the second of their three-game series Tuesday evening in Orem. Bryan Henry (5-2) is slated to get the start for the Osprey and Michael Davitt (0-2) will get the nod for Orem.
Notes from the nest: Tobin was making his second start of the season for the Owlz. In his first appearance, he no-hit the Casper Rockies for his entire five-inning stint. Tobin retired the first six hitters he faced Monday... The O's seemed to be rallying for a big third inning when Dijol ledoff with a double. But he tried for third on Victor Estevez's sharp one-out grounder to Tobin, who had plenty time to nail Dijol. Before making his next pitch, Tobin picked Estevez off of first to end the frame.
MISSOULA OREM
ab r h bi ab r h bi
Clifford cf 4 0 1 0 Miller cf 4 0 0 0
Rumler ss 3 0 0 0 Estrella 3b 4 1 1 0
Harbin 2b 4 0 1 0 Brossman dh 4 0 1 0
Coughlin 1b 4 0 0 0 Gronkowski 1b 3 0 0 0
Walker rf 4 1 2 0 Moore lf 2 1 1 1
Smith lf 4 1 1 0 Perez rf 3 1 2 1
Dijol dh 3 0 1 1 Gonzalez ss 2 0 0 1
Bustamante c 3 0 1 1 Rosenbaum c 3 0 0 0
Estevez 3b 3 0 0 0 Kennedy 2b 3 0 0 0
Totals 32 2 7 2 Totals 28 3 5 3
Missoula 000 020 000 - 2
Orem 100 000 20x - 3
E-Bustamante, Brasier. DP-Orem 1. LOB-Missoula 4, Orem 4. 2B-Dijol. 3B-Perez. SB-Perez. CS-Estevez. SF-Gonzalez.
IP H R ER BB SO
Missoula
Durst L, 1-7 6.0 4 3 3 2 2
Scribner 2.0 1 0 0 0 1
Orem
Tobin 6.0 4 2 2 0 1
Veras W, 5-4 1.0 0 0 0 0 1
Brasier S, 6 2.0 3 0 0 0 0
Umpires-Kolin Kline, Kyle Byrne. T-2:07. A-2,858.
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